Now we come to Hebrews 4:12, which says, “For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Holy Spirit, as the speaking Spirit, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit for our enjoyment, and the unlimited, eternal Spirit, dwells in our spirit today. Therefore, we must learn to discern our spirit from our soul. If you do not know how to discern the spirit from the soul, you will have no way to enjoy the Spirit of grace or to enter into the eternal Spirit. You will also have no way to hear the word of God or to understand the Bible. Many people think that a smart mind is required for the understanding of the Bible. This is not necessarily true. To understand the Bible requires us to enter into our spirit. Only when you are in your spirit will you be able to hear the speaking of the Holy Spirit. Your spirit is where He as the Spirit is, so you must divide your spirit from your soul.
Dear brothers and sisters, among all the Epistles in the New Testament, only Hebrews tells us to enter into the Holy of Holies (10:19), which is our spirit. Furthermore, 4:16 says to come forward to the throne of grace, which is the cover of the ark, which was within the Holy of Holies, in the Old Testament time.
We know that both with the ark and with the temple, there are three sections: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. In the outer court are the altar and the laver. The altar signifies the cross, and the laver signifies the washing of the Holy Spirit. This is the experience of salvation. In the Holy Place are the showbread table, the golden lampstand, and the incense altar, signifying the bread of life, the light of life, and the fragrance of resurrection respectively. Finally, there is the Holy of Holies, in which is only one item-the ark. We all know that the ark signifies Christ. The ark is in the Holy of Holies; this means that Christ is in our spirit. We are the temple of God, and our spirit is the Holy of Holies. The Lord is not in our soul but in our spirit. Therefore, to enter into the Holy of Holies is to turn to our spirit. To come forward to the throne of grace is to come before the Christ who is in our spirit. God dispenses grace to man, meets with man, and fellowships with man at the throne of grace, that is, in Christ.
There are some believers who believe that, according to Hebrews chapters eight and nine, the Holy of Holies signifies heaven, where the Lord is today. This is correct. However, today the Holy of Holies is also our spirit. If the Holy of Holies refers only to heaven, how can we enter it? Verse 19 of chapter ten explicitly says that we have the boldness to enter the Holy of Holies. Dear brothers and sisters, it is true that the Holy of Holies is in heaven, but because of the eternal Spirit, the Holy of Holies in heaven has been brought into our spirit. Today we do not need to go to heaven to contact the Lord; we just need to turn to our spirit. Let us use electricity as an illustration. Electricity is at the power plant, but today it has been transmitted into the house. Today when we want to use electricity, we do not need to go to the power plant; we can use it right where we are. Thus, subjectively speaking, today our spirit is the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies within us and the Holy of Holies in heaven are connected. If the eternal Spirit were not in us, then the Holy of Holies in the heavens would not be connected to us within. Since the eternal Spirit is in us, He connects the Holy of Holies in heaven to our spirit. As a result, our spirit has become the Lord’s Holy of Holies. We can enter the Holy of Holies at any time and anywhere. This is to turn to our spirit. To come to the throne of grace is to come forward to Christ, to contact God and touch God in Christ. Today the speaking Spirit, who is also the Spirit as our enjoyment and the unlimited, eternal Spirit, is in our spirit. Therefore, our spirit is the Holy of Holies, and the Lord is with us in our spirit. Hence, for us to draw near to the Lord, to contact the Lord, we must turn to our spirit. However, there is not one Christian who has thoroughly learned this lesson. Every one of us is still lacking in this matter.
Brothers and sisters, when you are saved by receiving the Lord as your Savior, you enjoy the redemption of the Lamb and also receive the washing of the Holy Spirit, yet all of this belongs to the outer court. Gradually, you go one step further and know how to enjoy the Lord as life, to have the light of life within, and to enjoy the fragrance of the Lord’s resurrection. You may feel that this is very good. However, you must remember that all of this is still in the Holy Place, in the soul. When I was young, I do not know how often I heard messages of appreciation for the blessing that the Israelites had in eating the manna. Finally one day, I saw that although manna was good, it was eaten in the wilderness. When the Israelites entered Canaan, they ceased eating manna. Thus, although manna is good, it is prepared for the saints who are wandering in the wilderness. Once you enter Canaan and know how to labor together with God on the land in Canaan to bring forth produce from the land, then you will no longer need the manna. Therefore, manna is for the childish Christians, the wandering Christians, and the Christians who are still living in their soul. Once you enter into Canaan, the Holy of Holies, the land of rest, and you truly know how to co-labor with God, at that time the Christ whom you enjoy will no longer be manna to you. If He is manna, He is not merely the manna that came down from heaven. Rather, He is the hidden manna, which is much deeper.
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